Etymograph

English

Lyon

Lyon comes from French Lyon, from Latin Lugdūnum ‘fort of Lug’, and ultimately from Proto-Celtic *Lugus ‘the god Lugus’.

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*Lugus‘the god Lugus’reconstructed
  2. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*Lugudūnonreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CELugdūnum‘fort of Lug’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentLyon
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1964same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*Lugus‘the god Lugus’reconstructed
  2. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*Lugudūnonreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CELugdūnum‘fort of Lug’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentLyon
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1964same form

Earliest quotation: 1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast: “Lyon was not a very cheerful town at night.…”

The story

From French Lyon (supplanting earlier Lyons, derived from the Old French nominative form), from the Roman name, Latin Lugdūnum (‘fort of Lug’), named after Lugus, a Celtic deity, from Proto-Celtic *Lugus.

Every English word from Proto-Celtic *Lugus

Another origin of Lyon

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλέων‘lion’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEleōnem
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400leon
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyounas lyon‘lion’
  5. EnglishtodayLyon

Today it means

name The third largest city in France; the capital of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Celtic *Lugus / Lyon

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